Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1887-05-06
The Star Of Bethlehem.
INTERVIEWS WITH ASTRONOMERS
ABOUT ITS REAPPEARANCE-
WHEN 1T Is EXPECTED-THE
WORLD TO BE AsToNIsHED
WITH IT'S oLD-TIMEBRILLIANcY.


WITH IT'S oLD-TDEIBRILLIANcY.
b. CassiOpeia.
Not a very ineligible name, is
it? And yet that is the name Of a
luminary which on memorable
occasion did exceedingly good SER
vice to certain wise men from the
East, thereby winning for itself
more glory and renown than has
ever fallen to the lot Of any other
constellation in the heavens.
1t was B. Cassiopeia and no
other star that revealed to the
anxious Oriental seekers after
truth the birthplace Of Jesus Christ.
Such at least is the popular belief,
and 10 astronomer has as yet sue
cceded in proving that the popular
belief is wrong.
OF course b. Cassiopeia did not
get its Latin name until quite re.
cent times. For many centuries
after 1t flashed before a wondering
world it was known to the ignorant
and learned alike as the long lost
star of Bethlehem. And probably
it would never have been christen-
ed anew had it seen fit to remain
in the obscurity into which it pass
ed after its first memorable ap-
pearance.
1T MAY APPEAR ANY DAY.
"When do you expect this star
to appear again :"
"Well, it was due in 1880, and
may appear any day now. 1 am
assuming, of course, that it is a
variable star, with q period of a
little more than three hundred and
eight years. Within the last two
thousand years twenty-four of these
temporary stars have appeared,
and all of them, like the star of
Bethlehem, have been character
ised by sudden outbursts that have
always followed by quiescence.-
Eruptions of brazing hydrogen are
the cause of these Outbursts.'
| NOT THE STAR IN ANDRoMEDA.
~ have seen it stated that this
star of Bethlehem might be identi-
cal with the nucleus which Hart
wig, of Strasburg, discovered in
the nebula of AndrOmeda in Sep
temDer, 1886. Is that possible :"
"No, sir; for the simple reason
that one star is in AndrOmeda and
the other in Cassiopeia. No one
who is not gifted with an extraordi'
nary imagination can even con-
ceive of star traversing the dis.
tance between these two positions
in anything like 300 years.
WHERE THE STAR NOW IS.
"What is its exact position IN
the heavens nowi'
"Between now and May . its
exact position can be seen close to
the North Pole at half.past 10
o'clock at night. Probably many
telescopes are turned toward that
point from time to time"
"The star of Bethlehem or the
Pilgrim, as 1t is also called" said
| the editor of scientific journal OF
this city, "may appear at any mo-
ment. It was due in 1880, and
ought certainly to be here now
that is, assuming that it shows
itself every 800 years. ! believe il
has been traced back as far as 800,
and there is certainly no reason
why it should forget to pay us a
visit this time. One can never tell,
however, what variable star will
do. Its appearance would create
worldwide interest, because II
would strengthen the popular be-
lief that it is the very same star
that guided the wise men from the
East to Jerusalem. School chill
dren, as we'll as astronomers, would
be interested in such case.
several other competent persons
we're interviewed on the subject,
and the consensus OF OPINION
seemed to be that the star would
appear in a short time and astonish
the world with its old time bril-
liancy. One thing is certain, that
for some time to come all who own
telescopes will turn them pretty
frequently toward that point of the
heavens in which B. Cassiopeia has
lain dormant for three CENTURIES
Nec York Herald.
A teacher was endeavorlng to
find out the proficiency of her little
. friends in mental arithmetic, and